What is the Role and Characteristics of Management Information System?

Role of MIS
1. Helps in quantitative as well as qualitative decision making process.
2. Helps in minimizing the element of surprise.
3. MIS helps decision maker to give a certain response, which may be either re – active or pro – active in nature.
4. Acts as a defensive mechanism as well as functions as a weapon for an offence.
5. Helps in creating a work culture based on information, in an organization.

Characteristics of MIS
MIS acts as a multi – disciplinary subject, depending heavily upon the various disciplines like management accounting, management science, organizational behavior, operations research, computer science etc. Nowadays MIS is totally based on the computers, but in the beginning it started with the electronic data processing, then it moved to the information systems, decision support systems, executive support systems etc.

When MIS came into being, it was just a single integrated system but now it is a combination of sub systems, which include production, inventory, finance, etc. These sub systems are of two types:-
1. Functional subsystems: – These subsystems include the following-
• Marketing – Sales planning after sales forecasting, customer analysis and sales analysis.

• Manufacturing – Planning and scheduling of the production to be carried out.

• Personnel – Identifying and then planning the various personnel requirements, performance analyzation.

• Finance and Accounting – Designing plans for getting the capital that is required in the business, measuring and analyzing the incomes.

• Information Processing – Information system planning plays a very key role in MIS.

• Top Management – Strategic planning.

2. Activities sub system :It includes
• Transaction Processing – Deals with orders, shipments, receipts and then their processing.

• Operational Control – Proper scheduling control of the activities to be performed during the operation process.

• Management Control – Budget formulation.

• Strategic planning – Planning strategically by forming certain objectives and then trying to achieve them.